September 25, 2023 - Foggy morning at Geroldsee

On some mornings, the municipality of Krün in the Upper Bavarian district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen has one of the highest density of photographers in Germany. Because the small moor lake Geroldsee is in their area and, when the dew point is low in the morning, it offers a special spectacle: wafts of fog move through the valley above the body of water, while the rising sun casts its rays onto the Wetterstein mountain range opposite.

This can create fantastic lighting atmospheres.

Fog over Lake Geroldsee at dawn at blue hour

Minute by minute more and more fog was forming

There's no doubt I've gone there half a dozen times over the last few years and I've always been able to capture a different atmosphere. This morning, too, this enchanting landscape at over 900m at the southern end of the Ester Mountains presented itself in a very special, magical atmosphere, and I was able to claim the entire area all to myself. Not another photographer, not a single hiker anywhere was in sight during my two-hour stay. Such moments of being alone and complete freedom in a landscape leave a much more intense connection to nature and allow one's own life force and a lot of creativity to emerge.

The landscape seemed a bit pale before sunrise, but that would quickly change

The fact that Geroldsee (also known as Wagenbrüchsee), located in the nature reserve, is one of the most beautiful lakes on the edge of the Alps for photographers is also due to the special feature of its photogenic symmetry. A wide variety of wooden huts can be built as a foreground from the hill and the humpback meadows above the water. The next picture level is the lake and behind it the impressive Karwendel Mountains. It's almost impossible not to get good landscape pictures!

First rays of sunshine on the Wetterstein Mountains with the Zugspitze

The rising sun appears over the Karwendel Mountains

There was a lot of fog. In the meantime neither the lake nor the mountains could be seen. However, every now and then the sky opened up a little, the fog began to move, wafted up towards me, only to retreat again the next moment. This constantly created a continuous dynamic in the exciting and mystical scenery.

In some areas the sun was still having a hard time and it took a while to break through

It took a while for the fog over the lake to completely clear. During this time I was able to capture a whole series of mystical and atmospheric moments. The only downside was the strong wind that blew over the lake and unfortunately didn't allow any photos of reflections in the water.

The only downside was the strong wind that blew over the lake

The fog was now clearing more and more quickly and the last touch of mysticism and magic quickly disappeared. Nevertheless, the view over the Geroldsee with the Karwendel mountains in the background remains a real feast for the eyes...

The fog was now clearing more and more quickly and the last touch of mysticism and magic quickly disappeared